Third-year law student Katherine Hunt opened her first bank account a decade ago at Washington Mutual. Her dad, an executive there, helped set it up.

Nearly two years ago, Jim Hunt moved on from what is now Chase to become OnPoint Community Credit Union's chief financial officer. But it wasn't until December that his daughter moved her account with him.

"I'd been on her for a while," Jim Hunt said.

The trigger: Chase's new requirements to avoid monthly checking fees.

"I hardly have a balance above the threshold at a single time," said Katherine Hunt, who attends the University of Oregon in Eugene. Now, she says, "a lot of my friends have switched for the same reason."

Hunt and her friends aren't alone in leaving big banks because of not-so-free checking. Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase and KeyBank -- four of Oregon's six largest banks -- have announced new monthly fees on their most basic checking accounts. Competitors say they're picking up some of the dissatisfied customers.

Plenty of financial institutions still offer free, no-frills checking. But increasingly, they're taking away perks or charging for other services.

Some institutions refrain from promoting their free products. They say they're still not sure they can provide it until new rules on debit-card fees become clear.

"We just don't know what's going to happen," said Chuck Garner, chief executive of Oregonians Credit Union (FYI, where I bank). "So we're not jumping on the bandwagon saying we're going to do many changes."

Hunt's delay in joining her father also illustrates how difficult it can be for people to leave their financial institution.

"It's very difficult to get certain demographics to move, senior citizens in particular," said Steve Ferber, president of Clatsop Community Bank in Astoria, the state's newest and growing rapidly. "They shop around for CDs, but they hate to change because they have the same checkbook.

"The more relationships you have with that client, the less likely it is for them to move somewhere else."

Bank of America and Chase announced new fees in December that have since taken effect. Wells Fargo began imposing fees on all new accounts in July. Generally they allow customers to avoid the fee by maintaining a certain average balance, using electronic banking or doing business with other arms of the bank.

"We just believe the deeper your relationship, the better the value," said Richelle Messick, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman.

Come June, all KeyBank customers must make five or more transactions or deposit $500 each month to avoid a $5 monthly fee on its basic checking account. New customers must abide by this structure starting April 1.

"Client research told us that this was the preferred manner to avoid fees versus maintaining a minimum balance," KeyCorp spokeswoman Anne Foster said via e-mail. "The overwhelming majority of Key's customers will continue to receive no monthly maintenance service charge by meeting the new account transaction activity requirements."

Others still offer free checking but have removed perks.

Portland-based Umpqua Bank on Tuesday stopped offering the first box of checks for free. The Umpqua Holdings Corp. unit also ended a $90 credit towards checks on its free business checking account. (I also have an account here.)

U.S. Bank, Oregon's largest, last month stopped enrolling new customers in rewards debit cards. "There will continue to be options for customers to have a checking account without a monthly maintenance fee," said U.S. Bancorp spokeswoman Teri Charest. "Like many banks, we are assessing our products and services in light of changing industry dynamics."

Garner's credit union recently asked some members to limit transactions at credit unions that aren't one of its six branches. This "Shared Branching network" allows transactions at 4,200 credit union locations but costs $3 a visit. Garner said only 1,200 of its 26,000 members used the service last year.

"In many cases, people are going less than a mile for a shared branch location," he said. "We're just trying to manage our costs." The letter asked members to use the service only when more than 10 miles from one of Oregonians' six branches and in need of quick access to check deposit.

There are a host of reasons for these cost controls. Banks face declining revenue from last year's federal law reducing swipe fees that are charged each time you use a bank debit card. Congress exempted smaller banks and credit unions, but some merchants balk at accepting cards that charge varying swipe fees, or interchange fees.

Banks and credit unions also are earning very little on the investments they make with your money. And loan demand, the traditional way banks make money, is down. The interest they can charge on loans is low.

Credit unions are forking over millions a year to bail out corporate credit unions that invested in toxic mortgage securities. Garner's paid $350,000 toward that cause last year, essentially all of the credit union's earnings.

Unitus Community Credit Union's home page has an animated feature poking fun at the big banks, asking: "How many hoops do you have to go through for their free checking?" A bank spokesperson said its account would remain free regardless of what happens with debit-card fees.

"We know it could very well hit the bottom line, but we still believe free checking is an important line to offer," said Laurie Kresl, Unitus' vice president of planning and business development.

Banner Bank is pushing checking that contains perks hardly found even at credit unions: free rewards cards with 5 cents cash back per transaction and refunds on fees charged by non-Banner ATMs. In February, it removed the requirement that debit cards be used 12 times a month. Banner Corp. officials didn't return a message seeking comment.

Bank of the West through March 25 will toss in $100 if you set up a recurring monthly deposit of at least $250 or make 10 online bill payments.

West Coast Bank, headquartered in Lake Oswego, will throw in a crockpot if you open a free checking account. It also covers the cost of as many as five withdraws at other banks' ATMs. "We have to continue to re-evaluate everything, but that's true right now," said Dave Hansen, regional vice president for West Coast Bancorp.

That should tell you that if you're moving to one of these banks, there's a good chance some of the free fringe benefits will disappear.

Take it from Garner, a 30-year banking vet who can remember when free checking didn't exist.

"I look at some institutions out there and think, wow, they're really promoting free checking; what do they have up their sleeves down the road?" Garner said. "We're kind of mum on it because we just don't know."